Assemble the Little Ones
by Penelope the Perky Penguin
Summary: My 'Little Stories', as I like to call them.
1. Dive

**Author's Note: **These may seem familiar to you, and there's a simple reason. I'm putting all my little stories into a single story. Not combining them, mind you, just de-cluttering.  
I'm putting them on here in the order I wrote them. You don't have to review again; I have the emails with your reviews in them :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis or any song that is used or I was Inspired by.

Story: Dive  
Character: Laura Cadman  
Synopsis: I can't let him die. Not only because he is my commanding officer, but because his teammates would kill me if I did.  
Date Written: 2-6-10

/\_/\_/\

"_The river's deep,  
The river's wide,  
The river's water  
Is alive.  
So sink or swim,  
I'm diving in."  
Dive- Steven Curtis Chapman_

My breath almost leaves me as I hit the cold water. Only years of training keep me from surfacing. If I come up, he won't have a chance.

I see him below me, sinking while still moving with the current. I start swimming toward him.

It seems like forever before I finally get to him, when in reality, it is only a few seconds.

As soon as he is in reach I grab him and begin my ascent.

I take a deep breath when we hit the surface. I am holding him by my left arm, swimming toward shore with my right. He is pale, unconscious.

I haul him onto the shore and check his breathing. He isn't.

I begin CPR, my body doing the motions while my mind runs a mile a minute.

I can't let him die. Not only because he is my commanding officer, but because his teammates would kill me if I did.

He takes a deep breath before coughing up water. His eyes open, he looks at me.

"Lieutenant?" He asks shakily.

"Yes, Sir. I'm here, Sir." I answer.

He tries to sit up, I help him.

When he is sitting he asks, "Where are we, Lieutenant?"

"P4X-742, Sir." I respond.

"What happened?"

"You fell into the river, Sir."

"Oh." He says with a confused look on his face. He looks around. "Where's everybody else?"

"About a 10 minute walk from here, Sir. They were still fighting off the locals when I left."

He gives me a questioning look. "When you left?" He asks sternly.

"Yes, Sir." I try to explain, "When I went running after you when you fell in the river."

"Oh." He still has a questioning look. "Why did I fall in the river?"

"One of the locals shot at you, Sir. When you tried to dodge it, the ground beneath you crumbled and you fell into the river. Sir."

"Oh." He says again, the questioning look leaving his face.

Before either of us can say anything else, the sound of crunching leaves comes from right.

I grab my P90 and prepare for another fight with the locals. But what I find instead is a familiar face.

"Ronon." I say with a sigh of relief.

/\_/\_/\

"He'll be fine, love." Doctor Becket says in his natural Scottish voice. "As will you."

"That's good." I say. "Does this mean I can go now?"

"Yes, love. Ye can."

"Thanks, Doc!" I say as I walk out of the infirmary.

Now that I am alone, I think. Trying to think of something poetic about today, I come up with this.

_Throw a grenade here, get one tossed back.  
Shoot at something, get shot at.  
Blow something up, almost get blown up.  
Protect the innocent, capture the guilty.  
Rescue the captured, help the wounded.  
Make new friends, watch over said friends.  
Help out there, come home alive._

_My name is Laura Cadman, and this is the life of a United States Marine._


	2. Just Three Steps

Title: Just Three Steps  
Character: John Sheppard  
Synopsis: What will happen when a man finds Sheppard with his wife in their home?  
Date Written: 2-18-10

/\_/\_/\

_"Gimme three steps, Gimme three steps, Mister,  
Gimme three steps towards the door.  
Gimme three steps, Gimme three steps, Mister,  
and you'll never see me no more." - Gimme Three Steps, Lynyrd Skynyrd_

He knew he shouldn't have followed her! A beautiful woman like that? In a place like this? Of course she'd be taken!

But, of course, he hadn't thought of that _before_ he'd followed her into a nearby hut.

And at the moment, he was wishing he had.

Because currently, there was a very large man in front of him with a crossbow pointed at his face.

Said woman was over in the corner, claiming that he had come onto her, when in reality, it had been the other way around.

Of course, her husband wasn't going to believe him.

His weapons were outside, with the others, and any peep from him to call for help would get him an arrow through the forehead.

But he knew that the only way out of this mess was by talking. He cleared his throat, the man did nothing.

"So far so good." He thought as he decided to risk talking.

"Umm. Look, Mister, I don't want any trouble."

The man remained silent, glaring.

"Look, if you'll just let me leave I promise I will never return."

Again, the man said nothing. With the door only three steps away, a song came to mind.

"Ummm. OK. How 'bout you just gimme three steps towards the door and you'll never see me no more."

The man thought for a moment, then slowly nodded.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

He took the largest step he could manage towards the door. He made it almost half-way there.

One more giant step... Reach for the flap... Move the cloth so he could get through... One more giant step...

And then he was out. He quickly made his way back to his team.

They gave him strange looks but said nothing.

"Colonel," Teyla began, "They will be happy to trade with us."

"That's great!" He said with false enthusiasm. If anyone noticed it, they did not mention it.

"Would you like to negotiate terms now?" Teyla prompted as he caught a glimpse of the large man just in sight, beside a building.

"N-no." He stammered. "If it's alright with them, I'll send Lorne's team to do that."

She gave him another strange look but nodded anyway. "I shall tell Miran then." She said, referring to the village leader.

"OK. You do that. We'll, uh, stay here."

She nodded before turning and walking back to where Miran was waiting.

"You alright?" Rodney asked as they picked up their things.

"What? Oh, yeah, fine. Why?"

"No reason."

Teyla returned a few long minutes later. "Miran says that will be fine."

"Alright then. Let's head back. I, uh, remembered some stuff I have to do."

After they reached the gate, he let Teyla, Rodney and Ronon go ahead of him.

Before he stepped through, he looked back. At the edge of the woods was the man that would plague his nightmares for days to come.

And with that thought, Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, United States Air Force, stepped through the gate, happy to be going home.

What he didn't know, however, was that Ronon had seen everything...


	3. Daylight

Title: Daylight  
Character: Evan Lorne  
Synopsis: Will Coughlin and Lorne get back to Atlantis safe and sound? Or will they die on some foreign planet?  
Date Written: 2-24-10

/\_/\_/\

"_Hold On.  
Daylight is coming to break the dawn.  
Daylight is coming." – Daylight, Remedy Drive_

"Hold on, Major. Help will be here soon, just hold on." I said, hoping it was the truth.

I was in a tough situation; I had a wounded CO depending on me, and while I could go for help, I didn't want to leave him in case the locals showed up.

It had been a simple mission- meet the locals, see if we could start a trade agreement, go home. Simple as Pi.

But then, this _is_ the Pegasus Galaxy and when has _anything_ gone right in this place?

Everything had been going fine until a rumor started that we were Wraith worshippers.

I have no idea how it got started but as soon as the village leader got wind of it, we were immediately unwelcome.

We were run out of town with pitchforks and axes and while we could've fought back, the Major said not to.

I saw it the same time the Major did- a single arrow headed straight for Doc Parrish.

The Major, being closer to the Doc, went to push him out of the way but was a split second to slow.

However, instead of hitting the Doc, it hit the Major.

Since he was already off balance, when the arrow impacted, he stumbled and fell.

"Major!" Doc Parrish shouted as the Major fell.

I had to think quick- a few of the locals were still coming and we had no time to bandage the arrow.

"Parrish, help me with the Major. Reed," I called to my friend, colleague and military counterpart, "Watch our six."

As Reed nodded, Parrish and I hefted the Major up, trying our best to not jostle the arrow.

The Major cried out in pain anyway.

"Sorry, Sir." I said as I picked a position on the Major's injured left side that wouldn't make me bump the arrow shaft as we ran.

It was hard going. The Major and the Doc were both about 5'9 while I was 6'5 in my socks. Reed would've been a better choice to help the Major as he was 6'3, but as he was also the sharp-shooter of the team, I let him be our lookout.

We were going fine for a few minutes, the Major helping when he could, until the pain became to much for him and he slumped against the Doc and me, unconscious.

We were still about a click from the Stargate and we couldn't move fast enough to outrun the natives. We had to hide…

…Or separate.

"Reed! Take Parrish and get to the Gate, get help for the Major."

"Excuse me?" Reed replied, shocked that I would even suggest leaving myself and the Major here.

"Reed, you know as well as I do that we can't leave the Major here by himself and we can't move him quickly enough 'cause of the arrow. I'll stay with him; you two get to the Gate and get help and a jumper."

He nodded. "We'll be back as soon as we can. Come on, Doc." He grabbed the back of Parrish's TAC vest and started him along the path back to the Gate.

As soon as he was sure Parrish was going with him, Reed broke into a run. Parrish had no choice but to do the same.

"Well, Major, I guess it's just you and me." I muttered as I went to set him down.

A sound from behind made me turn sharply, bringing my P90 up to point at whatever was there.

What I didn't notice, however, was that there were two of them. Or that one had come beside me while the other was behind me. And as soon as I turned and pointed my weapon at the one, the other stabbed me in the gut with what felt like a three inch blade.

I cried out in pain as I collapsed on the ground. I still had my P90 in my hand however and I brought it up.

Two shots. Two kills.

"Coughlin." A weak voice from behind me spoke.

I turned sharply, then wished I hadn't. The pain spiked as the knife moved. I just grunted, not wanting the Major to know how much it hurt.

"How bad is it?"

"Not bad." I lied. "We need to move, Sir."

"Not while you've got a knife in your gut!" The Major exclaimed. The action seeming to tire him.

"I'll be fine, Sir."

"Coughlin." The Major had a warning tone to his voice.

"Major. We need to keep moving. Get as close to the Gate as we can so they can reach us sooner."

"And what good will finding us sooner be if we're both dead from blood loss?" The Major asked softly.

I knew he was right. If we didn't stop the bleeding on both of us, we'd be dead before Reed and Parrish could get a jumper back for us.

I pulled out all the bandages we had, thankful that they weren't covered in blood.

I bandaged the Major's wound first- making sure to secure the arrow so it wouldn't move.

I then turned to my own injury. It didn't take long to secure the knife. I wanted to take it out but knew that the bleeding could get worse if I did. That and Doc Beckett would have my head.

The Major looked skeptically at the bandage but said nothing.

I helped him up and we were off, slowly, but surely.

We stopped what seemed like thirty minutes, but was probably only about five, later. As I leaned against a tree opposite the Major, I was pleased to see that his wound had quit bleeding but was worried that my own had not.

The Major noticed it too.

"You're still bleeding." He stated. He seemed to have gotten some strength back even with the arrow still in his side.

I nodded. "Yes, Sir. I noticed that too."

"How do you feel?" He questioned.

I grinned a little. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Sir?"

I saw a bit of a smile go to pass across his face but he blocked it. "I'm not joking, Coughlin."

He looked serious again. "How. Do. You. Feel?"

"I'll live." I replied, not wanting him to know that the knife moved with every step I took and the pain that came with it made me want to fall and not get up again.

Even though I didn't say it, I could see that he saw right through my lie. He'd done the same thing many times before.

"Alright. Let's keep moving." He pushed off his tree, headed towards me.

"Yes, Sir." I replied as I went to do the same.

The knife, however, had other plans.

As I pushed off the tree, the knife shifted again. The pain increased tenfold.

I fell to the ground with a yell, grasping at my stomach.

The Major was at my side in an instant, calling my name.

"Coughlin? Coughlin!"

"I'm alive. Mostly." I gasped, the pain slowly ebbing away.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah. I think so, Sir."

"We won't be getting far with you like this so we might as well park it here."

"Agreed." I replied as he helped me sit up.

As soon as I touched his arm, I knew something was wrong.

His skin was hot, his face flushed, and he was sweating like it was the middle of July in Alabama… Which it wasn't. It was Autumn on M3X-485.

I placed the back of my hand on his forehead, worried when he didn't try to pull away.

He was hot, to hot. In my experience, people who felt like that generally had about a 101 degree fever.

That meant that his wound was either already infected or he had lost more blood than I thought.

Probably the former.

As we both settled down into places where we could see all around us but were in resting positions, I wished Reed and Parrish would get here soon. Then I realized that they'd been gone about 30 minutes or more. Even if Parrish had been walking, they should've been back by now.

Something was wrong.

I leaned against the tree behind me, trying to stay awake but the blood loss was getting to me.

The Major looked worse than I felt.

His eyes were almost completely closed and his face was even more flushed than moments ago. He was succumbing to the fever.

"Hold on, Major. Help will be here soon. Just hold on." I said, hoping it was true.

"What do I know?" I thought. I know that my injury was bad and the Major's was worse. I know I probably could go for help, but I don't want to leave him here alone.

I leaned forward slightly to look around. Nothing. Even my wound didn't seem so bad.

Then I realized it. I was about to pass out. Normally I would've been worried, but right now, it seemed like a good idea.

As my eyes closed and the blackness came, I thought I heard the sound of crunching leaves and Reed's voice.

But I was probably hallucinating.

As I lost consciousness, my last thoughts were that I hoped the Major would be alright and that my death would not have been in vain.

/\_/\_/\

_Beep… Beep… Beep…_

"_Ugh._" I thought. "_Can I never get away from the beeping?_"

Then it hit me. Beeping meant machines. Machines meant technology. Technology meant probably Atlantis.

I opened my eyes to see the ceiling of the Atlantis infirmary. Never had it seemed so heartwarming.

As I looked around I noticed a few things.

One, it was late.

Two, Reed was in the chair beside my bed and Parrish was in the chair beside the Major's bed. All three were asleep.

Three, Doc Beckett knew I was awake.

He came over silently, trying to not wake Reed.

"How're you feeling, son?" He asked in his Scottish brogue as he put some ice chips in my dry mouth.

"Better." I replied. "How long have I been here?"

"About 2 days." He answered. "We found you and Major Lorne just in time. He had passed out from the 102.4 degree fever and we literally saw you pass out from blood loss."

"So I wasn't hallucinating hearing Reed?" I asked.

He smiled. "No, son. Ye weren't."

I sighed. "I never thought the infirmary would look so good."

"You'll get tired of it soon enough."

I chuckled. "Yeah, probably."

"You'll need to stay for a few more days and then only light work for another two weeks, barring complications. Of which, there should be none." He explained, knowing I would be asking the next day anyway.

"Full recovery?"

"For both you and the Major."

"_That's good._" I thought as I drifted off to sleep. "_Very good._"


	4. Drama Queen

Title: Drama Queen  
Character: Evan Lorne  
Synopsis: A random Ancient device that won't kill you? Can Lorne really be that lucky?  
Date Written: 10-5-10

/\_/\_/\

"Doctor Zelenka's IDC." Chuck announced as Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard rushed into the control room.

"They're early. Let 'em in." He ordered as he walked toward the stairs connecting the control room to the gateroom.

Doctor Zelenka had gone with Lorne, Coughlin and Reed on a routine mission- to check out some odd energy readings.

McKay had deemed it not important enough for him, so he had sent Zelenka.

What came through the gate was unexpected, to say the least.

Zelenka came through, followed by Sergeant Coughlin who oddly had a rope in his hands; he was pulling something. Or someone.

Major Lorne came through next, and then Sergeant Reed.

Sheppard was puzzled as to the state of his second in command; Lorne's hands were tied together with a zip-tie with the opposite end of the rope Coughlin held attached to it.

What was even more puzzling was why Lorne was _singing_. Not just singing, he was singing _Gilbert and Sullivan_.

"I am the Pirate King! It is, it is, a glorious thing to be a Pirate King!"

As Lorne continued with his song, oblivious to his audience, Reed approached Sheppard.

John noted that Coughlin kept one hand close to his stunner, _"What happened out there?"_ He thought.

"What happened?" He asked as Reed pulled a pair of earplugs out of his ears. Sheppard could understand.

"Sir, we were exploring the lab when a door wouldn't open for the Doc. He asked the Major to open it for him, and the Major did so. It was dark inside so the Major told the Doc to wait while we checked it out. He had just stepped into the room when he was engulfed in a bright orange light. It was there only a moment, and when it receded, the Major was singing with that goofy grin on his face."

Indeed, Lorne had a grin on his face the size of New England.

When Sheppard didn't respond immediately, Reed added, "We had been discussing favorite songs and the Major mentioned that he liked The Pirate King."

"Was there any writing nearby that might explain this?"

"Not that we could tell immediately. The Doc found a section of text that said after ten repetitions, something would happen. The Doc couldn't do an accurate translate there so we decided to get the text and come back here. Just in case the 'something' was bad."

"Good call. How many times as he been through the song?" Sheppard asked, glancing over at Lorne again.

"Nine, Sir. This is his tenth." Reed responded immediately.

Lorne was getting very animated with his song now, using his tied hands to gesture around the room.

"But I'll be true to the song I sing, and live and dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee… a Pi-rate King!"

"Why are his hands tied?"

"He wasn't being very cooperative when we tried to get him back. So Coughlin and I tied his hands together. He still wouldn't come willingly, so we tied the rope to help him along. We didn't want to stun him, just in case." Reed explained.

Lorne was finishing the song, so the two men turned back to face him, one more eager than the other for the song to stop.

"Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-rate King!" Lorne sang out at the top of his lungs. His goofy grin had transformed to the gigantic smile that people on Broadway wore.

He showed no signs of starting again; instead he began showing signs of confusion.

Looking around, his gaze turned to Sheppard, "Colonel?" Was all he got out before his eyes rolled back up into his head and his knees buckled, sending him to the floor.

Sheppard managed to jump forward in time to catch Lorne and lower him to the floor. He also managed to hear Keller before he saw her and moved out of the way.

"What've we got?" She demanded of the room as she and her team surrounded Lorne, checking pulse and breathing first.

"He was affected by a quirky device thing. It made him sing The Pirate King ten times, and then he collapsed." Sheppard explained quickly.

Even as weird as that probably sounded, it didn't even faze her. "Alright people! Let's get him to the infirmary stat!" She called out as they loaded the unconscious Major onto a gurney.

/\_/\

It was more than three hours later before Sheppard heard anything. He'd tried to stay in the infirmary to stay updated on Lorne, but Keller had run him out.

Rodney and Zelenka had confused him with their techno-babble and with Teyla on the mainland and Ronon busy beating up Marines; he had decided to finally do some of the mundane paperwork that ceased to stop piling up on his desk.

"McKay to Sheppard."

"Go ahead, Rodney."

"We've got something; you might want to come down here."

"I'll be right there."

He closed the file he was looking at and all but ran out of the room, glad that _something_ had finally come up.

He was at the doorway to the lab within a few minutes, "What've you got?"

"It was a joke." McKay said from where he leaned over his laptop.

"What?" Sheppard asked confused. Were they still talking about the same thing?

"The thing that affected Lorne. It was a practical joke."

"Again, what?"

McKay looked up from his laptop to stare at Sheppard. "The orange glowing device that did that thing to Lorne. It was a practical joke. One of the Ancients was a bit of a trickster. Apparently they had a friend who kept singing a certain song, so this Ancient created a device that would cause their friend to sing the song ten times and from then on, they'd hate it."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, surprisingly. I mean, knowing the Ancients, it's nice to find one that doesn't kill, maim, or evolve you."

Before Sheppard could agree emphatically to what McKay had just said, his earwig began talking, "Keller to Sheppard. Major Lorne's awake."

"I'll be there shortly."

"Understood." Keller said, ending the conversation.

"McKay, Lorne's awake. You want to explain this thing to him?"

"Nah, I'll let you." Rodney smiled at him in a completely sweet and innocent way.

"Thanks." Sheppard told him sarcastically.

"Whoa." Was Lorne's only response to everything Sheppard had just told him. He didn't remember singing, nor did he remember his hands being tied and being pulled along or passing out on the gateroom floor.

"Yeah. I must say, I'm glad that thing didn't maim, kill or evolve you." Sheppard said, trying to add a little humor to the situation, remembering Rodney's words.

"You and me both!" Lorne said, obviously happy to not be dead.

"Yeah, well I've got some more paperwork to do, so I'll let you rest."

"You? Paperwork? Are you sure I was the only one affected by an Ancient device?" Lorne asked. With his dry humor it was hard to tell whether or not he was being serious.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Sheppard replied, scrunching up his nose at his 2IC. "Anyway, rest and as soon as Keller gives you a full bill of health, you'll be back on duty!"

"That's the second best news I've heard all day. The best being that I'm not going to die as a result of some random Ancient device." Lorne added the second part at Sheppard's questioning look.

"Yeah, anywho, I'll see you later." Sheppard said, moving toward the door to the infirmary. "Oh, Lorne?"

"Yes, Sir?"

Standing so only his head was inside the infirmary, Sheppard added, "You are such a drama queen."

Quickly disappearing from view, he barely missed being hit with the plastic water cup that had been on Lorne's bedside table.


	5. Evading The Truth

Title: Evading The Truth  
Character: Evan Lorne  
Synopsis: After a horrible nightmare Lorne discovers his true feelings.  
Date Written: 1-6-11

Author's Note: You may recognize this as being the last chapter of my story 'Home'. I changed it slightly so as to make it it's own story for my Homeschool Literary Fair.

/\_/\_/\

"Run!" He shouted at his team, breaking left as they broke right, running from the vampire-type creature intent on having them for dinner.

He ran for a few minutes, weaving in and out of the trees. He thought he'd lost the creature, when it appeared out of nowhere, headed straight for him.

He ran again, continuing the way he'd gone before, away from his team.

The sound coming from the creature behind him changed, and he looked back to see that it was no longer a vampire chasing him. It was a pygmy marmoset. It quickly gained on him, despite the size difference.

Glancing back at the small monkey, he yelped in surprise and shock as the small animal's eyes glowed and it gained even more.

Turning his eyes back to his path, he ducked under a tree branch and stepped over another as he ran on.

A squeal made him turn again, and what he saw made his head spin. Dozens of pygmy marmosets followed him, covering the trees and the forest floor. All of them had glowing eyes and seemed to follow the instructions of a slightly larger one.

He ran on, his head pounding with the beat of his feet against the ground, his legs and back aching. He wanted to stop, but he ran on, the marmosets still following closely. He jumped over another tree branch in his path, and suddenly he was in the desert.

He still ran, the marmosets gaining rapidly as they skimmed easily over the sand.

He could see the gate in the distance, and his team standing around it. He couldn't seem to get their attention, and he wasn't sure if he could reach them before the marmosets reached him.

He ran and ran, the gate never seeming to get closer. The gate shimmered as though an illusion, and it disappeared.

"No!" He shouted even as he continued running.

The marmosets were within a few feet now, ready, it seemed, to tear his skin apart. He knew it was illogical, marmosets were herbivores, but this was a completely new galaxy. Man-eating pygmy marmosets wasn't something he should think of as new.

Still he ran, trying to stay ahead of the rabid things. That's when it hit him. He was being chased by rabid pygmy marmosets. He'd often thought that was funny when he was younger, but the hilarity of the situation was lost on him as he ran for his life.

On and on he ran, barely able to stay ahead of the small animals, his energy level falling rapidly.

His breath came in short gasps, his lungs reaching for the precious air they were being deprived of. His back and legs ached, unused to running at this pace for so long without a break.

He stumbled, barely managing to keep going. His vision blurred, but he pushed through it.

He ran up, down and around sand dunes, his feet becoming heavier and heavier. His vision blurred again, and this time he couldn't push past it. He fell, his body hitting the ground and rolling before coming to a complete stop. He lay on his back, his arms splayed out in odd directions.

His vision cleared for a moment and he could see the marmosets surrounding him. His eyes clouded over even as his lungs gathered in the air they'd been longing for.

He knew he was dead when he felt the first nail plunge into his skin, but he wasn't really thinking of that. The pain just magnified his headache, and black spots covered over his sight. He took a deep breath, trying to work through the pain, but unable to.

The black spots increased in size, and he welcomed the blackness, accepting his fate…

… Lorne sat up in bed with a gasp, thinking the lights bright as he looked around quickly for the pygmy marmosets.

"Nightmare." He muttered, laying back in the bed as the lights dimmed.

This was new for him; he hadn't had a nightmare in months. He'd had a couple after his capture three months earlier, but after he got back in the swing of things, they went away.

Now they were back, this time in full force. There was no worse fate then being eaten alive by rabid pygmy marmosets of strife. Not even vampires could compare.

He wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling the nightmare had something to do with the Doc's recent off-world adventure. She'd been captured, again, and it'd taken three teams to rescue her. He hadn't realized he could worry that much about someone. He'd tried to keep his feelings to himself, but a comment she'd made made him wonder if perhaps she felt the same.

In any case, he was never going to get back to sleep after that, so he quickly dressed and headed down to the infirmary. He didn't feel like sparring after that dream, or he'd see if anyone was in the gym. He had a hunch he'd find the Doc working, even if it was 5 am.

Sure enough, there she was. But she wasn't working, she was sleeping. She sat in her chair, using her arm as a pillow where it lay on her desk.

"Major." A quiet voice caught his attention.

Marie, one of the nurses that'd been on the base the longest, approached from the back room.

"Hey." He said, smiling. He'd always liked Marie, not in the romantic sense, but in the 'she's my little sister' sense. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Evan?"

"A few more times yet." She smiled back, using his own words against him. He'd said the very same thing to Colonel Sheppard after he'd asked how many times he had to tell Evan to call him John.

Lorne just smiled, turning his attention back to the sleeping doctor.

"Will you please get her out of here?" Marie asked, seeing where his attention was. "She's been here all night after working all day yesterday."

"Yeah." He said, inwardly grinning at the thought of carrying Jennifer through the halls to her quarters. "I can do that."

He picked her up carefully, making sure her head rested on his chest. She didn't even stir, so he knew exactly how tired she was.

He loved the way her body fit perfectly with his. When he'd been captured, he'd thought of Jennifer as his little sister. But lately she'd become something more. She flirted more, hung out more, had become something more than a sister, but not quite a girlfriend.

Carrying her through the halls, Evan got a couple looks from the few personnel that were up and about, but he ignored them.

Reaching her quarters, he used his security override to open the door. He walked in, lowering the lights and noting with some amusement the way her quarters weren't exactly clean. When it came to her infirmary, it was spick and span, but apparently she hadn't taken much time for herself lately. Evan planned to do something about that. He wasn't sure what, but something.

He laid her on her bed, sliding off her shoes and jacket before pulling the covers up over her. She slept on, oblivious to the man watching her.

She was cute when she slept, he noted. He hadn't wanted to admit he had feelings for her, but he knew the dangers of Pegasus, and if he didn't say something, one of them could be gone the next day.

She was sleeping too deeply for him to do anything less than blowing up her room to wake her, so he leaned down, brushing his lips lightly across her cheek. The tingle from touching her skin stayed with him.

"I love you." He whispered, getting up and leaving.

He didn't know how this would turn out, but he knew he wanted to explore it. The first step was admitting, while she was awake, that he loved her. He'd faced down vampires, zombies and balrog-type creatures, and won every time. Admitting that he loved her, to her face, however, was scary. But he wasn't going to let one of them die before she knew.


	6. Lackadaisical

Title: Lackadaisical  
Character: Evan Lorne  
Synopsis: Lorne wakes up with a simple cough. How bad does it have to get before he goes for help?  
Date Written:1-7-11

/\_/\_/\

Major Evan Lorne woke with a simple tickle at the back of his throat, requiring a small cough. The cough brought a burning in his throat, which required almost a full glass of water to ease.

He knew he wasn't going to get anymore sleep since it was almost 0600 and the sun was shining in his window, stunning him with it's beauty.

Lorne had tons of paperwork awaiting his attention, but thankfully no missions scheduled for the next few days. He decided to go ahead a get up, even if he was still a little tired. He wasn't sure why he was tired, he'd had a full eight hours of sleep, but he just blamed it on fatigue from working too hard.

Dressing quickly, he strode confidently out of his quarters, headed towards first the mess, than to his office to get some work done. He didn't really feel in the mood for food, but he knew he worked better with something on his stomach.

In the mess he grabbed a banana, a wild berry muffin, and an ice-cold bottle of water before heading out. He wanted to get started as soon as possible on his paperwork, and hopefully it'd all be done in just a few hours.

He managed to eat the muffin, but the thought of eating anything more turned his stomach in a very unpleasant way.

Picking up the first file, he got to work. He had to review mission reports, schedules, and requisition requests.

He was only an hour into his work when the chime on his door sounded.

"Come in." He called, not glancing up from the paper he was reading. He held up a hand to pause the person that'd walked in, finished reading the paper, signed it, and looked up to see his commanding officer standing in front of his desk. "Colonel."

"Lorne." Colonel Sheppard replied, grabbing a chair and casually leaning back in it, all formality gone. "You're here early."

"Yes, Sir. Just wanted to get some work done." Lorne informed, wondering if there was a real reason why his CO was lounging in his office. "Something I can help you with, Sir?"

What he didn't expect was a sheepish look to come over Sheppard's face as a hand came up to rub the back of his neck. "Ah, well… Teyla saw you in the mess this morning and mentioned to me you looked a little under the weather." Their eyes caught and Lorne was sure his CO could see right through the facade he'd put up. Indeed, he wasn't feeling all that great, but he tried to ignore the feeling so as to get some paperwork done.

"And?" Lorne prompted when Sheppard didn't continue.

"And she insisted I come see if you're doing alright, if you ate this morning, if you got a good night's sleep, yada yada yada." The Colonel's gaze had drifted to the ceiling but quickly returned to Lorne, studying him. "So? Are you doing alright? Did you eat this morning? Did you get a good night's sleep?"

"Yes, Sir, yes, Sir, and yes, Sir." Lorne could only hope Sheppard couldn't see through his little lie, knowing that if he did, he'd be up for a 'day of rest' where he'd sit around bored, eventually find his way back to his office and end up staying there all night in order to get the work done.

Sheppard's gaze sharpened as he took in his XO. "Alright. But if you start feeling bad, leave the paperwork alone."

"Yes, Sir." Lorne responded automatically.

Sheppard rose and left, leaving Lorne to get back to his work. He'd taken the time to stack the files according to what needed to be done- requisitions, reports, and things that just needed his signature- and he started with the signature stack, it'd take the least amount of time.

/\_/\

Two hours later Lorne was still at his desk, his full attention on the requisition form in front of him. He wasn't sure why the infirmary needed three boxes of chocolate, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he made a note to ask someone about it later.

Running a hand through his hair, Lorne rolled his shoulders, trying to get the kinks out. He was almost to the end of the requisition stack, and still had the mission reports to go through, but his head was beginning to pound fiercely.

Dry swallowing two Tylenol didn't help much, only succeeded in making his throat dry. His water bottle was empty, but he didn't feel like going and getter another quite yet.

Ignoring his pounding head, Lorne tried to read the words on the form on his desk. The words swam, his eyes unable to focus clearly on the page. Closing his eyes, Lorne placed his earwig on the table and rested his elbows on his desk. His head on his hands, he paused in silence for a moment. If anyone were to ask him, he'd say he was feeling fine, but in reality he felt like crap.

His head was pounding, his vision was blurring, the room began spinning every few moments, and he thought for sure the muffin he'd eaten was going to make a reappearance.

"Ah, shoot." Lorne muttered, resigning himself to the fact that he needed real food in order to concentrate. He stood, tightly gripping the side of his desk as he tried to walk around it towards the door. The room spun, worse than it had before, and he stumbled. His foot hit the side of his desk and he fell, curling in on himself as he eyed the door, doubting he could get to it.

It was then he remembered that his radio was on his desk, he'd forgotten to pick it up. Unable to find the energy to move, Lorne just lay there, watching the room as it spun like a gyroscope.

He hadn't thought it possible, but his head began pounding harder. Whatever this headache was called, it was much worse than a migraine. A migraine was minimal compared to this one, and he couldn't call for help, couldn't even move.

He tried to keep his eyes open, willing the room to land. It didn't. In fact, it got worse, spinning harder and faster.

"Ugh" Lorne groaned, trying to keep his food down, but failing miserably. He wretched onto the floor beside him, trying to ignore the smell. If he'd been tired before, then he was positively beat now.

The room slowed in it's spin cycle, but didn't completely stop. His eyes closed of their own accord, and he had no energy with which to open them again. He wasn't aware of when he passed out, only that the pain was suddenly gone, and he felt free.

/\_/\

When Lorne woke, he found himself still on the floor of his office. The stench of his reappeared food making him dry heave. His headache was still there, but slightly less painful than before.

His strength had returned somewhat, and he had two choices. He could go for his radio and request help, or he could crawl to the door and hope someone could see him. While the radio was closer, he'd have to raise up enough to reach it off his desk. But if he went for the door, he'd have to raise up enough to wave his hand over the crystals to open it.

He decided on the radio and dragged his body slowly along the floor to his desk. He reached up, grabbing the top of his desk and tried to pull himself up.

He barely succeeded. Reaching his other hand up, he felt along the top of the desk for where his radio was supposed to be. He felt it at the tip of his fingertips, and grasped at it, but was unable to. He pulled himself up even farther, ignoring the way his shoulder screamed in protest. Quickly grabbing the earpiece, Lorne released the desk and allowed his body to collapse back to the floor.

His energy was gone, and his breathing was heavy, but he had the radio and he could call for help.

Lorne placed the earwig in his ear and activated it. "Lorne to Sheppard." He ground out, his throat still raw from heaving.

"Sheppard here. What's up Major?" Sheppard's voice resounded loudly in Lorne's ear, making him wince.

"You remember you said if I felt bad to stop working?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, um." Lorne broke off as another spell of dry heaving came upon him and the room began spinning again.

"Major? Lorne?" Sheppard's worried voice spoke to him, but he was unable to respond for a few moments.

"Ugh." He groaned. "Get the Doc."

Sheppard said something else but it went unheard as Lorne went again into the realms of unconsciousness.

/\_/\

When Lorne once again came into the land of the living, he was lying on a bed in the infirmary.

He lay silent for a few moments, listening to the sound of heart monitors beeping.

"Major." A whisper drew his attention to Doctor Keller as she approached from her office.

"Hey, Doc." He whispered back, his voice not quite up to talking regularly.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she checked all the wires connected to his body.

"A lot better." He said truthfully. His headache was almost completely gone, his insides felt like they would stay there, and the room wasn't spinning. "What happened?"

"Do you remember that ceremony you and your team took part in on your last mission?"

He nodded, he did remember that one. It was probably the most interesting ceremony he'd ever witnessed. The people had insisted his team take part in order to celebrate their new alliance. The natives had made him, and only him, drink a weird alcohol substance, but it hadn't seemed to have any affects, and it was deemed safe.

"As it turns out, that alcohol you consumed takes a couple days to manifest it's symptoms."

"That's why I felt like crap this morning?"

"Yes. And you should've come to me immediately." She said pointedly.

"Doc, it was just a headache at first. By the time it got worse, I could hardly stand."

"Which is why you should've come to me for the headache."

"I have a bottle of Tylenol in my office, I didn't see a reason to come bother you."

She glared at him before responding. "Helping someone that doesn't feel good is not a bother."

"Alright, alright." He said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I promise that next time, I'll come to you first."

"Good." She said, carefully injecting a blue liquid into his IV. "This is an anti-nausea drug, but it'll also make you sleep."

"Okee-day." He said with a smile.

"Sleep well, Major."

"Night, Doc."


	7. Questioning Chocolate

Title: Questioning Chocolate  
Character: Evan Lorne  
Synopsis: Lorne gets an odd request from the infirmary- does he really want to know?  
Date Written: 1-8-11

/\_/\_/\

"A pink duck-billed platypus?" Colonel John Sheppard asked incredulously.

"Yes, Sir. That's what it looked like." Major Evan Lorne affirmed. The two of them were walking towards their shared office, hoping to get some much needed paperwork done.

"Whoa. Those things are vicious! I can't believe you got out of there alive." Sheppard replied, opening the door and waving the Major through first.

"You and me both, Sir." Lorne said as he headed to his desk on the left side of the room.

Sheppard headed for the laptop they left plugged up with a playlist of their favorite music on it, turned to a Johnny Cash song and then hit 'Shuffle'.

"So, first one with a clear desk wins?" Sheppard asked as he sat himself in his chair, facing Lorne. They often had contests to help them get done sooner. The prizes varied from the loser's team having to go on the annoying missions, to however much chocolate and/or beer was stashed in the loser's quarters.

"That'll have to start when I get back, I just remembered I have to go ask the Doc about a requisition request I got from the infirmary." Lorne told him, grabbing the request in question and moving back towards the door.

"What kind of request?" Sheppard asked curiously.

"For some reason the infirmary needs three boxes of chocolate."

"That's odd. Usually it's personal requests wanting chocolate, not the infirmary."

"Hence why I need to go ask the Doc about it." Lorne said with a smile.

"Alrighty, don't stay gone long or I'll definitely win." Sheppard smirked, turning to his first file.

"No, Sir." Lorne replied, exiting the room and taking the quickest route to the infirmary.

/\_/\

Lorne entered the infirmary and quickly looked around for Doctor Jennifer Keller, Commanding Medical Officer.

He spotted her in her office, talking to Marie Edwards, one of her head nurses and a good friend of Lorne's.

"Hey, Doc, Marie." Lorne smiled as he knocked on the office doorframe. "Sorry to interrupt, you got a minute?"

"Yes, of course, Major. Come in." Jennifer said. "What do you need?"

Lorne handed her the request. "Do I want to know why the infirmary needs three boxes of chocolate?"

He was even more sure he didn't want to know when both Marie and Jennifer blushed deeply and shared a look.

"Well, um, Major. That's because, um, we, uh-" Jennifer broke off from her stammering, unable to continue.

Marie covered for her. "You may not know this, Evan, but there are some infections that only appear when exposed to theobromine and phenethylamine, which are found in cocoa."

"So why not request cocoa or cocoa beans?" Lorne asked, now thoroughly curious. "And why three boxes?"

"Because chocolate tastes better and because three boxes is enough that we can eat some and still have enough for our research." Marie said, her voice daring him to argue.

"Ah." Lorne's voice was laden with amusement. "Alright then, I'll put it through."

"Thank you, Evan."

"No problem." Lorne gave Marie a quick hug and departed, wanting to get back before Sheppard finished moving all his paperwork over to Lorne's desk.


	8. Time Flows

Title: Time Flows  
Character: Evan Lorne & Jennifer Keller  
Synopsis: Time flows like a river and history repeats... or does it?  
Date Written: 1-12-11

/\_/\_/\

Evan walked slowly along towards the mess, alone in his thoughts. It was almost three am, and everyone was asleep… except him. He wasn't sure why he couldn't sleep, but he figured it had something to do with Jennifer being on his mind.

An old friend had once told him that '_Time flows like a river and history repeats_', and Evan had to agree. He'd dated before, but not much, and was fine with that. He'd had a 'thing' with someone during his Hornet training, but that had just been a quick fling and he was over it. His next big relationship had been during Red Flag. His girlfriend, Tanya, had broken his heart when he'd wanted more than just a fling, and she'd said no. That was when he swore off dating permanently.

But now Jennifer had caught his eye, and he wondered what he should do about it. She was beautiful in the utmost ways. She was smart, kind, forgiving. He knew he never had a chance with her, not with the way Ronon and Sheppard took to her like older brothers. But if he never tried, would he ever really know?

So many things could go wrong with having a relationship with her. Since he was the second-in-command of the entire base and she was the chief medical officer, they saw each other almost every day. If he screwed up a relationship with her, how would that affect their daily lives?

Evan sighed as he grabbed a Jello cup and a spoon, choosing to sit in the darkest corner. His training was ingrained, and he naturally took a seat where he could see the entire room and it's entrances. He was still thinking about what he should do when the focus of his thoughts walked through the door. He didn't move, just slowly continued eating and watched her.

Jennifer grabbed an apple and a bottle of water, sitting at the table closest to the kitchen. If she knew he was there, she didn't show it. In the low light, Evan barely made out her face. She was beautiful. The way her hair curved around her face in just the right way, the way the soft light highlighted only a part of her face, it made him want to grab a brush and paint. He hadn't painted since the day Carson had died, the memory of him turning down the opportunity to go fishing with his favorite doctor just so he could finish a painting still too fresh in his mind.

Evan rose, taking his spoon to the kitchen and his empty Jello cup to the trash. He quickly washed the spoon he used, not wanting the kitchen staff to have to clean up after him when they came in. Coming back out into the mess, he saw Jennifer still sitting there. Sliding into the chair across from her, Evan really looked at her. He could see the bags under her eyes, the small grimace of pain, probably from a headache, and the way her eyes took a moment to focus on him.

"Hey, Jen." He smiled, folding his arms and resting them on the table.

"Hey, Evan." She tried to smile back, but it looked more fake than she could have known.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, concerned.

"I was finishing up some paperwork and decided to grab a bite. What about you?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Oh." She lowered her gaze to the apple core in her hand.

"How's Captain Lawson?"

"He's doing fine. Should be ready to go back to work within the next couple weeks." she told him.

Captain Lawson and his team- consisting of two Marines and a botanist- were visiting an ally's village, celebrating their recent successful treaty negotiations, when he'd fallen ill. As it turned out, the coffee bean they'd just negotiated for had addictive properties. If one resisted them for very long, that person became extremely sick. Captain Lawson found this out first hand and ended up unconscious in the infirmary for several days.

The Captain was lucky that he showed signs so early. If he'd waited, he probably would have died.

That incident made Evan realize that he needed to go ahead and tell Jennifer about his feelings. Because any day, one of them could die by the hand of some savage yokel, or by a deadly virus, or by addiction to coffee. Here, he couldn't wait to tell someone something. If he did, he might never get the chance.

"Jen?" he asked, finally manning up enough to ask the question.

"Yeah?" she replied, her voice telling him exactly how tired she was.

He didn't know exactly how to ask it, so he just blurted it out. "Would you go out with me?"

Jennifer's head snapped up, her eyes locking with his. "What?"

Regretting asking it now, Evan backpedaled. "If you don't want to, that's fine, but, I mean…"

"Evan." Just the way she said his name stopped him.

"Yeah?" he asked, retaining a little slice of hope.

"I'd love to," she said, smiling a genuine smile.

Inside, Evan and his subconscious cheered. But on the outside, he only smiled and leaned over the table enough to give her a light kiss on her cheek. "I'll pick you up at 1900."

"I'll be ready," she said, rising.

They left the mess together, hand in hand. And finally, Evan could say that his friend's quote was not true. Yes, time flowed, but history did not always repeat. He'd learned from his mistakes with his previous girlfriends, especially Tanya, and he wouldn't make them again.


	9. Hello World

Title: Hello World  
Character: Evan Lorne  
Synopsis: He's finally been rescued... In more than one way.  
Date Written: 2-1-11

/\_/\_/\

How had he gotten into this mess? Being held captive and tortured by their supposed 'allies'? His body ached from his sessions, his mind shouting for help even as he clamped his mouth shut to keep from screaming his pain to the world.

He didn't know what the latest drug they'd put in his system did, but when he suddenly was surrounded by cars, cell phones and television, he got a clue.  
He turned in circles, looking around even as his rational mind told him that he couldn't possibly be on Earth. Everything around him screamed at him, begging for attention. It overwhelmed his sensitive systems and he fell to the ground, clutching his head in silent agony.

Then, through the crowd, he saw a little girl. She held a chocolate ice cream cone in one hand, waving at him with the other. Her voice drifted to him, "You'll be alright. Don't worry."

A smile crossed her face as she walked on, not once looking back towards him. The world seemed quieter now- everything that had been bugging him was gone.

_Traffic cars, cell phone calls, top video screams at me  
Through my tinted window I see a little girl, rust red minivan  
She's got chocolate on her face, got little hands  
And she waves at me, yeah, she smiles at me  
_  
Suddenly he was back, the door of the hut he'd been kept in dragging him back to reality when it was kicked open and soldiers in familiar uniforms rushed in. They secured the room before coming to him- checking to see if he was still alive.

He was in too much pain to be dead, and he managed to groan to assure them he was still with them mentally.

"Don't worry, Sir." A voice floated to him as he tried to think of whom the voice belonged to. "We'll get you home."

_Well, hello world, how've you been?  
Good to see you, my old friend  
Sometimes I feel cold as steel_

They laid him on a stretcher, covering him with a thin blanket. It was then that he realized just how cold he was. There'd been mostly freezing rain and snow in the area where he'd been kept, and it had soaked through the hut, chilling him to the bone.

_Broken like I'm never gonna heal  
I see a light, little hole in the little girl  
Well, hello world  
_  
The walk to the gate seemed short, but maybe it was just his befuddled mind playing tricks on him. Every now and again someone would talk to him, telling him to hang on. He wanted to ask them what it was he was supposed to hang on to, but his body wasn't responding to his requests for it to move. So he just lay there, silently staring up at the stars.

He thought of his mother during the walk. Thought of how every Sunday she'd take him and his sister to Church for morning service, and then spent the afternoon teaching them to paint. They would paint for hours, sometimes barely making it back to Church for evening service.

_Every day I drive by a little white church  
It's got these little white crosses like angels in the yard_

He'd never thought of himself as religious, but he did pray occasionally. He thanked God for the good things, when he remembered. All of his prayers, when they were said, were usually for someone else. His Dad, his comrades, his friends, his old teams… He'd never prayed for himself though, and if how he felt was any indicator, he wouldn't be around much longer to intercede for his friends.

_Maybe I should stop on in and say a prayer  
Maybe talk to God like He is there  
Oh, I know He's there, yeah, I know He's there  
_

"Lord." He prayed with his mind, his mouth still not working. "Please help me. I know I haven't been a good and faithful servant like I should've been- but I need Your help. Please. Please." His last words turned into a plea, almost begging, for his life. For salvation. For a Savior.

_Well, hello world, how've you been?  
Good to see you, my old friend  
Sometimes I feel as cold as steel_

He heard the gate being dialed, heard someone announce a medical emergency, heard someone tell him, once again, to hold on.

This time, he didn't want to make a sarcastic comment. This time… This time he wanted to tell them that it wasn't up to him. That it never was.

_And broken like I'm never gonna heal  
I see a light, little grace, little faith unfurl  
Well, hello world  
_  
Everything was a rush, once he was back home- Carson rushing him to the infirmary, getting him under a scanner and bandaging his wounds.

The pain came suddenly, telling him that he'd lost feeling in most of his body on the way. Something he hadn't really noticed. His eyes drifted shut, knowing he was in good hands… Or so he hoped.

_Sometimes I forget what living's for  
And I hear my life through my front door  
And I'll be there, oh, I'm home again  
_

He felt like he was home, but he didn't know what that meant. Was his home on Atlantis? Or was his home in Heaven, with his Father?

The voice that had calmed him before was back, reassuring him yet again. "Wherever you are, I will be with you. Wherever your heart is, that is where you will be. Currently, that is on Atlantis. It's not your time."

_I see my wife, little boy, little girl  
Hello world, hello world  
_

His eyes opened again, taking in the faces above him looking concerned- worried- for him.

A smile graced his face as he mentally fell to his knees, thanking his God for saving his life.

The worry vanished from his friend's faces, being replaced by relief. His eyes drifted shut again, sleep calling his name, but he wasn't concerned. He had a Savior, he had a Father, and he had a home. And for now, that's all he needed.

_Oh, the empty disappears  
I remember why I'm here  
To surrender and believe  
I fall down on my knees  
Oh hello world, hello world, hello world_


	10. Pages

Story: Pages  
Character: Evan Lorne  
Synopsis: Lorne's day starts out so well… Who knew it'd do from good to bad to worse in a matter of hours?  
Warnings: Deathfic!  
Rating: T – because it's a deathfic, there is no language.  
Date Written: 2-11-2010

**Author's Note**: I know I said I'd never write a Lorne deathfic, and I guess I'm breaking that now. Allow me to explain why: I had to have a cavity filled yesterday morning. I was shot twice with Novacain along with the regular anesthetic. Apparently I have these 'reactions' to Novacain.  
One, about 30 minutes after getting the first shot, I wanted to started laughing hysterically because of something that wasn't really all that funny. I did start laughing, but I managed to not go into hysterical laughter because the dentist had his hands in my mouth and I really didn't want to taste blood right then.  
Two, about 45 minutes after getting the first shot, I started crying for absolutely no reason. I still don't know why.  
Three, today I feel like crap. My head is stopped up and it's hard to breath.

And so, when I don't feel good, I write… interesting… stories. So yes, I have now written a Lorne deathfic. Please don't kill me.

/\_/\_/\

One last stroke here, one last dab there… It was done. This painting had to be the hardest he'd ever done, as it had so many of his own emotions in it.  
The cross symbolized his faith, the storm his emotions. The water showed where he thought he was, the mainland where he wanted to be.

_What happens to a man when he spills his heart on a page  
And he watches words float away then  
His feelings lie on a page alone  
_

"Major Lorne to the Control Room!" The call came through the radio in his ear, sounding urgent enough he left his paints where they were and ran. He didn't like leaving his paintings out where people could see them, but he had no choice this time. He could only hope no one saw it- it showed too much of himself for him to let others see it.

_There waiting for someone who cares to read them  
To open their eyes to see them  
To see if they can make his thoughts their own  
_  
Find a missing team, that was his mission. He could do that. It was a cakewalk… Until the cake turned into a pit of wriggling snakes and he had to exchange himself for the team. He told his team to get back to Atlantis and get help, but he knew that a lot could happen in the short amount of time it took to do so.

_To find out that maybe your life's not perfect  
Maybe it's not worth what he gives away  
_  
Four broken and three cracked ribs, a broken arm, a severe concussion, a dislocated shoulder and bruises all over his body. That was the cost. In hindsight it didn't seem like that much of a price, but at the time it felt like the most expensive thing in the world.

He kept his mouth shut, not letting one single scream out. The pain was intense, but he didn't let it show. That angered his captives more than anything he could've said and they took their frustration out on him… A broken leg, a bruised hip and ten lashes with a whip. That was the penalty for his silence.

_You can see that this broken soul is bleeding  
So you concede your feelings inside yourself  
And wonder through my heart  
_  
His only hope of survival was the chance that his team would be back for him. He couldn't escape on his own- there was too much pain.  
Luck was with him as his team burst through the door. The lead captor swiftly grabbed his broken arm and twisted it behind him painfully, demanding that they leave or he died. His team refused and the captor yanked on his arm- he did scream this time. His eyes closing as he tried to ride out the wave of pain.

_Letting you see through me now only consumes me  
Forget your pain and watch me fall apart  
_

He lost consciousness, and when he awoke, he was surrounded by his team. They looked on with sympathy as the carried him towards home. He couldn't speak, couldn't scream as the pain returned with a vengeance. He could only lie on the stretcher and stare at the sky. His emotions were flowing through his body with a speed greater than ever before; he felt trapped.  
He heard one of his teammates say 'Who's Anne?' and he knew that he must've said something while he was unconscious. Anne had been an old girlfriend, one that he wanted to become much more with. He'd found out that she was already engaged, and he was enraged. The woman, his life, his love, had lied to him for months.

His words of endearment and adoration tied him to her, even though he cut all other ties with her. He'd even apologized to her fiancé and they had come to an understanding.

_What happens to a soul when he's trapped inside his emotions  
And all of these words he's spoken  
They bind him to the life he's left behind  
_  
A shudder ran through his body, shaking him out of his memories. The pain was fully back, and what he wouldn't have done for a dose of painkillers. Another shudder ran through his body, making the pain spike. He managed a groan- his team didn't stop, just pushed on faster.

If the pain were any indicator, he wasn't going to last long. He could feel a broken rib floating inside his body, sending shocks throughout his torso.  
He had so many dreams… desires… wants… and now he wouldn't be able to reach them.

_And every new step he takes  
He knows that he might not make it  
To all of these dreams that he has yet to find  
_

He barely felt the tingling as he was carried through the gate, didn't hear the doctor's concerned words floating to him. All he knew was pain and memories. Memories he didn't want.

_Maybe your life's not perfect  
Or maybe it's not worth what he gives away  
_  
He could feel his body begin to convulse and had no control over it. He knew the doctors were working their best, but he could only see so much and the pain was still a constant.

_You can see that this broken soul is bleeding  
So you concede your feelings inside yourself  
And wonder through my heart_

_Letting you see through me now only consumes me  
Forget your pain and watch me fall apart  
As I fall apart  
_  
A voice floated to him, telling him to hang on. To not give up. He didn't want to, but he had a feeling it wasn't up to him this time.

_You can see that this broken soul is bleeding  
So you concede your feelings inside yourself  
And wonder through my heart  
_

"_Evan?"_ The voice was up close and personal now, demanding that he hang on. _"Stay with us! We need you!"_

_Letting you see through me now only consumes me  
Forget your pain and watch me fall apart_

The pain wasn't subsiding, even though he subconsciously knew it should be. His eyes closed of their own accord- nothing he could do would stop them.

He could suddenly hear the beeping of machines, the whine of the defibrillator, the talking of the doctors. It didn't matter. He could feel his mind and soul leaving his body and mentally waved goodbye to his friends. All of a sudden he hoped someone did find his painting. Hoped they would understand it.

He said one last goodbye and turned to face his next adventure.

_As I fall apart_


	11. Need You Now

Title: Need You Now  
Character: Evan Lorne/Jennifer Keller  
Synopsis: They need each other more than they thought.  
Date Written: 2-11-2011

**Author's Note**: One of my best friends, Kelcy, wrote a Kingdom Hearts fanfic using this same song and it inspired me to write one about Evan and Jennifer- so here it is. 'Need You Now' is the title track off of Lady Antebellum's latest CD.

/\_/\_/\

Her favorite picture was on her nightstand- evidence of just how happy she'd been. They'd been together for three months and she'd never been happier. Everyone said they were the perfect couple… and yet here she was, crying alone in the darkest spot of her room, wishing he'd come back.

_Picture perfect memories, scattered all around the floor  
Reaching for the phone 'cause I can't fight it anymore  
_

All her thoughts were on him. His smile, the way his face lit up when he talked about painting, the way he always thought to bring her dinner when she had the late shift.

_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind  
For me it happens all the time  
_  
The red LED light of the clock shown brightly in the dark room. 1:15AM it said… Normally she'd be asleep, dreaming of him, but not tonight. Tonight she huddled in a blanket- the one he'd laid on just the previous night, and it still had his scent on it.

She inhaled deeply, the scent of his vanilla spice aftershave filling her nostrils and going straight to her heart as she remembered the first time she ever smelled it. He'd come into the infirmary for a post-mission check-up and it'd fallen to her to close up the small cut on his forehead. It only took two butterfly strips to fix, but she'd gotten close enough to smell his aftershave and had almost fallen in love right then.

_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now  
Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now  
_

She didn't know what she'd done to make him leave, she only wanted him back. She wanted to grab the radio and call him to come back to her- wanted to apologize for whatever it was that she'd done to push him away. She wanted, no, _needed_ him. She needed him now.

_And I don't know how I can do without  
I just need you now  
_

/\_/\

Someone refilled his glass and he took a swig. He didn't know who had done it, and he really didn't care. All he wanted was to see his girl stalking in the door to beat him upside the head for being so incredibly stupid.  
He wasn't sure why he needed to be smacked, he didn't remember doing anything stupid, but since it was now a quarter after one in the morning and he wasn't with her… Obviously he'd done something to make her leave.

_Another shot of whiskey, can't stop looking at the door  
Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before_

He wondered if he was on her mind the way she was on his. She was his life, his love… How would he operate without her by his side? They'd been the perfect couple- the head doctor and the second in command of a military base.

She was always on his mind, even when he needed to concentrate on negotiations. He doubted she knew how much he loved her. Maybe if he'd told her just how much he did she wouldn't have left.

_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind  
For me it happens all the time  
_  
He finished off his glass and grabbed the bottle, not bothering to refill the glass, just tipping up the clear bottle and letting the moonshine slide down his throat, burning the whole way.

He knew he was drunk, but he didn't care. He wanted to activate his radio and ask her forgiveness for whatever it was that he'd done. But maybe she needed some time away from him. And besides, she was probably asleep right now.

_It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now  
Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now  
_

He rested his chin on his hand, breathing deeply and somehow finding her fragrance reaching his senses. The light scent of daffodils invaded his mind, comforting and yet saddening him. It reminded him of what he'd lost- what he wished to gain again.

_And I don't know how I can do without  
I just need you now  
_

/\_/\

Memories of their first date, first kiss, and first night together assaulted her mind. They brought pain, but she guessed that pain at the love she'd lost was better than never feeling love at all.

_Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all  
_  
Her hand itched to reach for her radio, to find him and beg him to take her back. It would hurt if he rejected her, but if he took her back, all the pain would be erased and they'd go back to how things were.

She couldn't stand it anymore- she stood, keeping the blanket around her shoulders, and steadily walked out of her room. She didn't know exactly where he was, but she was going to try his room and if he wasn't there… She'd call him. Find out where he was and beg that he take her back.

She couldn't stand the loneliness. She needed him.

_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now_

/\_/\

He slammed the empty bottle onto the table, ignoring the looks he got from the people around him. Guys Poker Night was officially done, though most were still hanging around and getting drunk.

He grabbed his jacket, pushing through the fog to reach the door. He couldn't go on without her… He needed her.

_And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now_

/\_/\

She couldn't find him in his room or the mess. She was about to call him when she remembered that it was Guys Poker Night. If he'd gone, he'd be in the Game Room.

She rushed that direction, hoping that he was there.

She was almost up to the door leading into the room when it opened and he swaggered out. He looked drunk, but as he was walking in a straight line without help, he wasn't too far gone. She rushed up, stopping right in his pathway, staring up into his eyes.

_And I don't know how I can do without  
I just need you now, I just need you now  
_

/\_/\

She stood right in front of him. The look on her face was precious. It was one of hope, concern, and love. The one thing he didn't think she'd ever feel for him anymore.

"Jenn…" He whispered.

"I love you, Evan." Her voice was also low so that their voices wouldn't echo down the hallway.

"Oh, Jenn." He placed one hand on each side of her face and pulled her into a kiss. He tried to convey everything he felt into that kiss, but he felt that it was sorely lacking… Until she kissed back and effectively ended every coherent thought in his mind.

_Oh baby, I need you now_


End file.
